-> ''"[[Series/TheATeam A Tough Team for a Tough Job]]"''-->-- Advertising slogan

''Sonic Heroes'' is a video game in the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series released at the end of 2003. It's notable for being the first ''Sonic'' game to have MultiPlatform releases on all three [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames sixth generation]] consoles after Sega quit making consoles (prior to this, ''Sonic'' stuck to the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube with several rereleases of older games and the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance for the 2D ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Advance|Trilogy}}'' trilogy) as well as the first original 3D ''Sonic'' game after ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Its primary gameplay gimmick is teamwork, and as such the story focuses on four [[PowerTrio teams of three]]: Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, and Team Chaotix. Each team has a [[SuperSpeed Speed]], [[SuperStrength Power]], and {{Flight}} character with an associated formation. Each formation can be immediately switched with the press of a button.

Mad scientist [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]] has a new plan to TakeOverTheWorld: a DoomsdayDevice that he claims will allow him to conquer the world in three days. This declaration sets into motion a chain of events that sweeps up four teams of three in their wake:

* '''[[TrueCompanions Team Sonic]]''', consisting of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Being the heroes, they just want to stop Dr. Eggman. Their levels are roughly in the middle difficulty-wise.* '''[[AntiHeroTeam Team Dark]]''', consisting of Shadow (amnesiac and seeking answers), Rouge (wants to plunder Eggman's treasure vaults) and Omega (wants revenge on Eggman). Their levels tend to be the hardest, with the most enemies.* '''[[DistaffCounterpart Team Rose]]''', consisting of Amy (wants to track down Sonic), Big the Cat (wants to find his missing friend Froggy) and Cream the Rabbit (wants to reunite her friend Cheese with his brother). Their levels tend to be the easiest due to lower enemy count and being shorter.* '''[[PluckyComicRelief Team Chaotix]]''', consisting of Espio, Charmy and Vector. Having opened a detective agency in the time since their first adventure, they take on a mysterious client who hires them to investigate Dr. Eggman and his new scheme. Their levels have a scavenger mechanic, where you're asked to gather a certain amount of an item before completing the level.

The game's reviews were rather mixed, but mostly positive, with the [=GameCube=] version getting the highest overall scores, and the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version getting [[PortingDisaster the lowest]]. Fans and critics alike praised all of the [[ContinuityNod call backs to previous games]] and the return of Special Stages, but criticized the requirement of team-ups, the lighthearted [[ExcusePlot minimalist]] storyline, and retaining some of the 3D problems of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.

Was later followed up by a semi-sequel called ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' that wrapped up several of the loose threads in Team Dark's storyline.

A teamwork gimmick would also be used in ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance 3]]'', but with a team of two instead of three and the ability to choose different character combinations.

----!!This game provides examples of:

* ActuallyADoombot: Eggman, after you crash his Albatross. [[spoiler:Once your back is turned, though, the robot melts and reforms into Metal Sonic.]] * AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic, the real villain of the game, has gained a personality over the years, and was disillusioned by never being able to fulfill his purpose of defeating Sonic; in a surprisingly astute move, he mutinies by locking up Eggman, taking over his empire, and impersonating him, as well as secretly copying the data of the heroes to become all-powerful. However, its clear that he's not only a cold-blooded egotist, but also literally insane, as he believes ''he'' is the real Sonic, and ''Sonic'' is his "loathsome copy!"]]* AllYourPowersCombined: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]] spends the game scanning the heroes and gaining their powers: Sonic's speed, Tails's flight, Knuckles's strength, Shadow's Chaos powers, and (by way of proxies that have been in contact with him) Chaos's shapeshifting ability, manifested through metal instead of water.* AntiHeroTeam: Team Dark.* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Whatever Metal Sonic did to upgrade himself, it has pretty clearly made him lose his mind. During the final battle, he shouts that he's a robot based on Sonic and that ''he's the real Sonic'' at the same time, to the point that he calls Sonic his "loathsome copy."]]* BadassLongcoat: [[spoiler:Neo Metal Sonic.]]* BagOfSpilling: Each time you start a new zone, all your levels reset to zero.* BigBad: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic.]]* BigNo: Sonic lets one out when you lose a life via BottomlessPit. [[spoiler:Metal Overlord]] also belts one out when hit by a Team Blast.* BlindIdiotTranslation:** "Look at all those Eggman's robots!" Doubles as MemeticMutation.** Another rather egregious example is in the final level, when you press a self destruct switch to detonate the ship you are currently on, Tails will say "Wonder why it self destructed?" when in the original Japanese script, he said [[LampshadeHanging "Why did he put a self destruct switch there?"]]* BottomlessPits: Lots of them are present in the game, to the point where almost every single level after Power Plant is some level suspended high in the air.* BubblegloopSwamp: Lost Jungle is this in the lower areas.* CasinoPark: The {{Trope Namer|s}}.* CastHerd: All playable characters are herded into {{Power Trio}}es.** GeodesicCast: Each of the trios are organized with the Speed-Flight-Power gameplay mechanic.* CharacterLevel: Collecting certain power-ups allows individual team members to upgrade one level (with a total of three upgrades each), which allows them to do more damage to enemies.* ChromaticArrangement: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles provide the classic Blue-Yellow-Red arrangement, which in this game has been expanded in role to refer to Speed, Flight, and Power character types. This particular arrangement of colors can be found all over the game if you look, such as on certain grind rails.* ConflictBall: Any battle between two teams has pitiful justification.** Teak Dark and Team Chaotix fight when Rouge accuses the Chaotix of being after Eggman's treasure on the basis of them looking like "creeps." Chaotix in turn think Team Dark works for Eggman (which, to be fair, Shadow and Rouge did in ''Sonic Adventure 2'').** Amy tries to force Sonic into marrying her by beating the crap out of him. Big and Cream believe that Sonic has Froggy and Chocola though, so at least they have ''some'' excuse.** For the Chaotix and Rose fight, the Chaotix are searching for Chao under their client's orders, and Vector attempts to politely ask Team Rose for theirs. Amy's reply is snarky enough to anger all three of them, which leads to Espio demanding they hand over the Chao, Cream accusing them of stealing Chocola, Big getting upset, and Charmy getting [[BloodKnight thrilled]].** Sonic and Shadow challenge each other simply because they both "have a date with Eggman."* ContinuingIsPainful: Losing a life results in not only losing all your points, but it also resets your level-ups, making whatever killed you before more likely to kill you again.* ContinuityNod:** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure "I couldn't even beat Gamma or Beta."]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 "Sonic, there's no way out of marrying me!"]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure "This place reminds me of Casinopolis."]]** [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles "There are large jungle mushrooms on my island, too... but not]] ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles this]]'' [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles huge."]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 "Sonic... Why does that name bother me so much?"]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure "The Egg Carrier is nothing compared to this!"]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 "Space? Did you say SPACE?"]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure "This weather reminds me of our last attack on the Egg Carrier!"]]** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 "Some things never change, do they?"]]* CostumeCopycat: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic disguising as Eggman through the entire game, while the real one is locked up and gives orders to Team Chaotix. Presumably the "Sonic" seen in the newspaper article that kicked off Team Rose's quest was also Metal Sonic in disguise.]]* CutAndPasteEnvironments: All the Teams go through the exact same levels at the exact same times and fight [[spoiler:Metal Sonic disguised as]] Eggman in the exact same fights. While there are enough differences in the actual levels, the storyline is a giant ContrivedCoincidence.* CycleOfHurting: Team Chaotix inverts this with the way their [[LimitBreak Team Blast]] works. The Team Blast gauge is filled by killing enemies and collecting rings, and with every enemy Team Chaotix kills with their Team Blast, they collect a few rings. If you are in a place or boss battle with enough enemies, it's possible to pull off consecutive Team Blasts.* DamnYouMuscleMemory: A mild example in the [=PS2=] version, as the Cross (X) and Circle (O) buttons were not switched from their Japanese functions (being no and yes, respectively) when brought to the West, making menus rather frustrating to navigate.* {{Determinator}}: Shadow, of all people, as proven in this stage dialogue:-->'''Rouge''': "Doesn't look like we'll be able to move on."\\'''Shadow''': "No problem, let's keep moving."* {{Dreadful Musician}}s: The Chaotix during their Team Blast. So awful they can annihilate everything around them. On his own, one of Vector's power-ups is to use [[BrownNote his singing voice to damage enemies]].* DuelingPlayerCharacters: The game has the characters split into four teams of three, with two of the other teams serving as Boss Battles during the game -- Team Sonic & Team Chaotix fight Team Rose & Team Dark, whilst Team Dark & Team Rose fight Team Sonic & Team Chaotix.* EgocentricTeamNaming: Team Sonic and Team Rose. Averted by Team Dark and Team Chaotix. * EvilSoundsDeep: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic. Surprisingly, it's just [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iKTD-Lai1U Ryan Drummond's Sonic voice]] given a robotic makeover. The same applies in Japanese for JunichiKanemaru.]]* ExcusePlot: In contrast to the previous ''Sonic Adventure'' games, ''Heroes'' deliberately aimed for a much more simplistic plot with the general conflict, in order to serve as a "jump-on" point for newcomers to the series. The only exception is Team Dark's story, due to the subplot involving Shadow.* FakeDifficulty: The game suffers in a few places from cagey controls and awkward physics. Take the special stage Emerald Challenges, where you must race and overtake the Chaos Emerald at high speed while navigating through a scattered mines -- a difficult enough concept even if you didn't have to worry about the controls wigging out as you race along the walls, cutting your speed at the most awkward times.* FakeLongevity: In order to unlock the Last Story, you must complete each Team's individual story, which is standard enough and has been Sonic Team's standby since ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''. The problem is that each different story consists of four almost-identical playthroughs of the same 14 levels and 7 bosses, with the main differences being different arrangements of enemies and "longer" stages that often amount to extended repetitions. (''e.g.'' In the Egg Fleet stage, Team Rose must merely reach Eggman's first battle ship, while Team Sonic must reach and destroy ''two'' battleships, and Team Dark ''three'').* FastballSpecial: ** The "Power" characters can pick up the other team members and perform this for their aerial attacks.** Team Sonic's Team Blast, the Sonic Overdrive, has the teammates flinging each other over to the enemies close enough for Sonic to perform the Light Speed Attack.* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: The Egg Fleet consists of ships that resemble sharks, sawfish, and manta rays. The (huge) flagship, Final Fortress, is a whale shark.-->'''Big''': "Look at all the fishy ships!"* ForcedTutorial: Sea Gate in Team Rose's storyline.* {{Foreshadowing}}: ** When Team Chaotix is about to fight the Robot Storm at the Mystic Mansion, Vector calls "Eggman" a mustache moron, before asking his client if he's the real deal (they had earlier defeated a fake). The client takes an odd amount of offense to Vector's remark before stopping himself. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that their client was Eggman all along.]]** In the scene where Team Dark defeats Eggman at Sky Canyon, because of their [[spoiler:finding a destroyed Shadow robot, and later a large collection of Shadow robots in stasis]], people had been speculating that [[spoiler:the Shadow they discovered in the beginning of the game may have been a robot.]] However, the same scene as [[spoiler:their discovery of the destroyed Shadow bot had Metal Sonic stating that the Ultimate Life Form's data has been successfully copied, implying that yes, the Shadow that Rouge discovered is indeed the real Shadow.]]** In Hang Castle, an Eggman statue [[spoiler:becomes a Metal Sonic statue when the castle flips upside down]].* FreeRotatingCamera* FriendshipSong: The main theme song [[TitleDrop "Sonic Heroes"]] is centered around this, as does Team Sonic's theme song "We Can."* FurryConfusion: Vector is an anthropomorphic crocodile. [[BubblegloopSwamp Lost Jungle]] includes a giant non-anthropomorphic alligator as a hazard. Team Chaotix takes an alternate route through the level, so the twain never meet. Team Rose (which fights Team Chaotix after Lost Jungle) doesn't encounter the alligator either,* [[HumanLadder Furry Ladder]]: Any of the four teams can assume this position at any time, in order for the "Fly"-type characters to take the lead.* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In a sense. During Team Dark's Chaos Inferno Team Blast, Shadow reaches into Omega's chassis and pulls out the green Chaos Emerald to perform [[TimeStandsStill Chaos Control]] (whether the Emerald served as a power source for Omega or the robot was simply safeguarding it is unknown, although, given subsequent games, the latter is more likely). However, you still have to collect that particular Emerald via the Special Stages (with any of the four teams). Later on, [[spoiler:during the Last Episode, where the teams reveal that they've been collecting all of the Chaos Emeralds separately, Omega is seen in possession of the green Emerald, implying that he still had it all along.]]* GiantMook: The [[DropTheHammer Egg Hammers]], who first appear in the jungle stages, then become a recurring {{mook|s}} for the rest of the game.* AGodAmI: The Big Bad. And with this newfound god complex comes some shades of {{Omnicidal Mania|c}}...* GoldColoredSuperiority: The gilded Egg Knight has more health than the standard Egg Pawn. * HeavilyArmoredMook: The Egg Hammers, which can only be destroyed by the power character. In Mystic Mansion and Final Fortress, there is an Armored variant that wears a Roman-styled helmet that shields its only weak point.* HeyThatsMyLine: This exchange between Sonic and Shadow:-->'''Shadow''': "Well then, it'll be a date to DIE for!"\\'''Sonic''': "Hey, that's my line!"* HypocriticalHumor:--> '''Espio''': "Hey, they're asleep. So stay quiet and move slowly."--> '''Charmy''' (''loudly''): "Okay!"--> '''Vector''' (''even louder''): "What are ya doin'? Be quiet!!!"* IJustWantToBeYou: Hinted to be the cornerstone of [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]]'s motivation (see ThereCanOnlyBeOne below).* KnightOfCerebus: [[spoiler:As soon as Metal Sonic reveals himself, the LighterAndSofter feel of most of the game suddenly breaks down.]]* KungFuProofMook: Shiny mooks that only power characters can damage (such as the giant mooks).* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When fighting the Egg Emperor as the Chaotix, Espio comments "This must be the final stage."** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Pd7tw1XDw#t=2m32s In fact, pretty much anything Espio's says when finishing a stage .]]* LeaveHimToMe: Various characters of any ability type will tell this to their teammates when encountering Eggman's robots.** In the last story, [[spoiler:Sonic tells Eggman that he'll take on Metal Madness. Subverted when the rest of the characters want to help him out and Sonic eventually accepts their help.]]* LetsYouAndHimFight: Tons of it. Let's put it this way: all the teams are technically on the same side, but they continually fight each other for petty reasons and misunderstandings throughout the game anyways. This is especially noticeable with Team Dark, who kept attacking people just in case their opponents might have saved the day before they could for their own reasons.* LevelsTakeFlight: Egg Fleet and Final Fortress. The former involves the player hopping from airship to airship as they gradually tear through Eggman's aerial armada before landing on his flagship.* LighterAndSofter: In comparison to ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', at least. That is, [[MoodWhiplash up until]] Last Story.* LimitBreak: Team Blast, a joint attack by the whole team that can be expected to decimate every robot in the immediate vicinity. Team Blast is enabled by filling its meter, by collecting rings, hitting enemies, and doing certain actions.** Team Sonic has [[FastBallSpecial Sonic Overdrive]], a straightforward no-frills move.** Team Dark has [[TimeStandsStill Chaos]] [[WaveMotionGun Inferno]], which stops time until the meter runs out.** Team Rose has [[PetalPower Flower Festival]], which gives everyone a level up and invincibility until the timer runs out.** Team Chaotix has [[LoudOfWar Chaotix]] [[BrownNote Recital]], which generates a random ring value from every destroyed enemy, sometimes even enough to trigger a ''second'' Team Blast.* LoudOfWar: Team Chaotix's blast uses their [[DreadfulMusician horrible singing]] to cause the robots in their radius to explode.* MarathonLevel: Almost every stage in the game is pretty long, but most notable are Power Plant and Mystic Mansion, the latter of which is ThatOneLevel.** Final Fortress, too, but that's to be expected from the last non-boss level.** Mystic Mansion from the Chaotix's story has you trying to extinguish all the torches in the level with Espio's whirlwind... [[TwentyBearAsses for some reason]]. If you miss one, you have to search through the whole level from the beginning. A clean speed run of the level, skipping enemies, without having to backtrack for a missed torch, will take ''upwards of 10 minutes''.* MoodWhiplash: The dark tone of the Last Story in contrast to the generally LighterAndSofter feel of the rest of the game.* MultiMookMelee[=/=]WolfpackBoss: The boss battles following Bingo Highway and Mystic Mansion are this.* MultiPlatform: The fact that the game was being released for all three of the then-current gen consoles was a major selling point. The [=PS2=] version is generally considered a PortingDisaster due to things such as clipping and inferior framerate.* MusicalNod: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTj9XD9sds4 "upside down" theme to Hang Castle]] is composed almost entirely of an ambient remix of a riff from ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]]''[='s=] Mystic Cave BGM.* NintendoHard: ** The later Team Dark stages.** The optional [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Super Hard Mode]], which is ironically ''less'' difficult than the requirement for unlocking it: All A-Ranks. Mystic Mansion's ThatOneLevel status gets taken UpToEleven, though.** Even the Sonic stages (which is what a lot of newcomers are going to play automatically, this being a ''Sonic'' game) are rather difficult when they rely mostly on rails. The broken camera and controls brought over from the ''Sonic Adventure'' series aren't really helping, either.** Inverted with Team Rose stages, being designed for novice players. They are shorter versions of Team Sonic stages with less enemies and traps and weaker bosses. In addition, Team Rose has a PurposefullyOverpowered Team Blast. However, Team Rose is slightly slower than the other teams, making the later Special Stages nigh-impossible to complete with them.* NotMeThisTime: [[spoiler:Throughout the story, all of the teams pursue Eggman when he unleashes the Egg Fleet to conquer the world. However, it is later revealed in the endings that not only is Eggman, for once, not responsible for the world domination plan, but in fact he was locked up by the one actually responsible: Metal Sonic.]]* OffModel: The boxart shown above; although he's in front of Sonic, Knuckles is ''much'' smaller. [[RegionalBonus This was later fixed for the PAL boxart.]]* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Metal Overlord.]]** [[spoiler:MonstrosityEqualsWeakness: While Metal Madness was somewhat challenging due to some cheap moves, such as a [[OneHitKill Three-Hit Kill]] if he encased the party in his energy prisons, Metal Overlord is an out-and-out AntiClimaxBoss when faced with the [[SuperMode souped-up]] Team Sonic.]]* PantyShot: Amy and Cream both show this in Team Rose's cinematic cutscenes.* PintSizedPowerhouse: At 3'7", Knuckles is the only Power character who doesn't tower over Speed and Flight types; for reference, he's only four inches taller than Sonic.* ThePowerOfFriendship: More like the '''real superpower of teamwork!'''* PowerTrio: All four teams.* PrecisionFStrike: Downplayed, but still significant: In the English dub, Amy Rose occasionally blasphemes. It's not much, but it pushes the envelope for something G-rated.* PurposefullyOverpowered: Team Rose's Team Blast, to make their gameplay even more beginner-friendly. In addition to destroying all nearby enemies (like all Team Blasts), it levels up all three characters and gives them a shield and an invincibility power-up.* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Super Sonic and Metal Sonic, whether it's the normal one, Neo Metal Sonic, or Metal Overlord.]]* RememberTheNewGuy: Chocola never appeared before this game, and [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome hasn't appeared since]]. ([[WildMassGuessing Maybe he's back at home with Vanilla?]])* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: Compared to the DarkerAndEdgier stories of the ''Sonic Adventure'' duology, the story and overall tone of this game is much more lighthearted and juvenile.* {{Rewrite}}: WordOfGod confirmed that this game did not bring back the Chaotix, but reinvented them for the game, meaning that ''VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix'', their debut game, [[CanonDiscontinuity has been written out of]] the ''Sonic'' canon.* RiseToTheChallenge: Rising lava at the end of Power Plant (with Team Sonic, at least).* SceneryPorn: In true ''Sonic'' tradition.* ShoutOut: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]] mimics the liquid metal shtick of ''Film/{{Terminator}} 2''[='s=] T-1000.** The cutscene before Team Chaotix's first boss battle has this:-->'''Espio:''' "It's Dr. Eggman!"-->'''Charmy:''' "[[Series/DoctorWho Dr. who?]]"* TheSpiny: One of the Egg Flappers sprouts red spikes every few seconds to make itself Homing Attack proof.* StoryArc: Team Dark's story continues the story of Shadow the Hedgehog that was introduced in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', which would be concluded in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog''.* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: Rouge does this to Shadow and Omega in the start of the Team Dark story, which then leads to the three teaming up and find Eggman together.* StealthPun: Vector is an alligator detective...* StockSubtitle: "Heroes."* SuddenlyVoiced: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]], who goes back to being TheVoiceless in all subsequent games.* SuperMode: [[spoiler:Team Sonic does this to beat Metal Overlord.]]* TeamworkPuzzleGame* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Implied with Shadow and Omega. As Rouge tries to get them to team up and find Eggman together, the two give each other an uncomfortable glare. They soon put aside their resentment later on.* ThereCanOnlyBeOne: [[spoiler:[[RobotMe Metal Sonic]]'s [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou desire to beat Sonic]] [[SanitySlippage progressed]] into a full-on insanity in this game as he believed himself to be the ''real'' Sonic (all the while still acknowledging that [[EvilKnockoff he was built with the purpose of defeating Sonic]]) with lines like, "Long time no see, Sonic, my loathsome copy!" and "I am the ''real'' Sonic!"]] ** To a lesser extent, [[spoiler:Shadow's identity crisis is further compounded when he discovers a broken robotic copy of himself, although he doesn't say anything about it and it is instead Rouge and Omega who briefly muse about the development at endgame.]]* TitleDrop:** The beginning of Team Sonic's story when they get the "invitation" from Doctor Eggman. He starts the letter off by exclaiming, "Guess WHAT, Sonic Heroes?!" ** The ending when [[spoiler:Metal Overlord reverts back to Metal Sonic.]]--->[[spoiler:'''Metal Sonic''': "It's no use... but why can't I defeat you?"]]--->[[spoiler:'''Sonic''': "Because we're Sonic Heroes."]]* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:In Team Dark's ending, Rouge and Omega discover a room full of robo-duplicates of Shadow aboard the Final Fortress in tubes that looked suspiciously like the one the playable Shadow was kept in in their opening cutscene. This casts doubt on whether or not the Shadow that joined them on their quest was the ''real'' Shadow or just a robot, but Eggman reveals in the final battle of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' that he ''is'' the real Shadow, whom Eggman recovered after ''Sonic Adventure 2'']].** ''Inverted'' with [[spoiler:Metal Sonic. He's become so insane, he goes in and out of saying he was built to destroy Sonic, and then deludes himself into believing ''he'' is the real Sonic, and that Sonic is ''his'' copy!]]* TornadoMove: Sonic and the other Speed characters can even whip up a tornado by rapidly moving in a circle.* TotallyRadical: Sonic and Knuckles dip into this on occasion with lines like "That was tight!" and "Too cool!" It makes sense for Sonic, to an extent, but Knuckles? [[OutOfCharacterMoment Not so much.]]* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: They didn't even ''try'' to hide [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]] coming back.* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Shadow, of the physical trauma variety.* TurtlePower: The giant turtles of Ocean Palace.* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Due to their "client" giving them rather arbitrary conditions for progressing, Team Chaotix's runthrough of the game switches gameplay styles quite a bit, which can be quite jarring, especially if the player beats all the other teams' playthroughs first. * TheUnfought: [[spoiler:Dr. Eggman appears to be the BigBad throughout most of the game, but the player gets a bait & switch when they discover that it was actually Metal Sonic impersonating him and that Metal Sonic's the true villain of the game.]]** [[spoiler:Neo Metal Sonic is also never fought before he transforms.]]** Story-wise, [[LetsYouAndHimFight each of the teams only faces two of the remaining three.]]* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The characters find a statue of Dr. Eggman at Hang Castle. They comment on it. Then they flip the level over, revealing a statue of [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]]. Not a single word is said about it.* UnwinnableByMistake: Espio's Leaf Swirl makes him invisible and lets him dispatch enemies by throwing ninja stars. Since Vector and Charmy can no longer see Espio, they just stay put and teleport to him when he shows himself again. Trouble is, if you jump into a cannon while you're invisible, your teammates don't follow you in, and there's no way to fire or otherwise exit the cannon until they do. You are forced to restart the entire level at the expense of one life.* VariableMix: Hang Castle has two different versions depending on the stage's orientation, while Mystic Mansion progresses through different parts as you go from one area to another.* VideoGameSettings:** AirborneAircraftCarrier [=/=] EternalEngine: Egg Fleet and Final Fortress.** BigBoosHaunt: Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion.*** HauntedCastle: Hang Castle.** BubblegloopSwamp [=/=] JungleJapes: Frog Forest and Lost Jungle.** CasinoPark [=/=] PinballZone: Casino Park and Bingo Highway.** DeathMountain: Rail Canyon and Bullet Station.** PalmtreePanic: Seaside Hill and Ocean Palace.** {{Tomorrowland}}: Grand Metropolis and Power Plant.* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Metal Overlord, upon his defeat.]]-->[[spoiler:"Guooooo! Why! I had it all! I am the ultimate overlord, Metal Sonic! I am the real Sonic!"]]* VillainSong[=/=]TheVillainSucksSong: Depending on how one interpret the lyrics, "What I'm Made Of," the theme of the [[spoiler:({{True|FinalBoss}})]] FinalBoss is either [[spoiler:Metal Sonic telling Sonic about his maddening motive to finally defeat him and prove his worth ''or'' Sonic's BadassBoast to Metal, daring him to try and copy his power and see how that works out for him.]]* VisibleInvisibility: Espio can be turned invisible to the other characters -- or at least, the enemies.* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]], although it's [[LateArrivalSpoiler largely]] in ItWasHisSled territory among most fans.* WalkIntoCameraObstruction: The end of the first scene of the Team Rose story; with Big.* WallJump: Sonic, Shadow, and Espio can perform the Triangle Jump, which is this in a nutshell. Espio's, uniquely, allows him to stay on the wall for an indefinite amount of time.* WaveMotionGun: Final Fortress has several of these. Towards the end of the stage for both Team Sonic and Team Dark, you have to avoid twelve of them, side by side, while [[GrindBoots rail grinding]], followed by a much bigger cannon that you have to switch to Fly formation to avoid.** [[DodgeTheBullet Or, if you do well enough at dodging the lasers beforehand]] [[OutrunTheFireball you will have gained enough speed to simply blast down the final railway with enough speed to outrun it's warm-up sequence.]]* WeCanRuleTogether: Of a sort. More like, "I can rule, and you can benefit," but mostly an attempt to get out of skinflinting the Chaotix.--> '''Eggman:''' "When I conquer the world..." (''[[LargeHam dramatic fist raise]]'') "'''I ''will'' PAY YOU!'''"* WhamLine: At the end of the Team Chaotix story:--> '''Vector:''' [[spoiler:"Doctor Eggman, I presume."]]* WolverinePublicity: The first stage, [[PalmtreePanic Seaside]] [[GreenHillZone Hill]], has gotten a form of this, as it has appeared in ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing]]'' and its sequel ''Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed'', ''VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames'', and as the representative of this game in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''.<>----